20 years of probation will follow term

By Pierrette J. ShieldsLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
11/27/2012 11:16:21 AM MST

Updated:
11/27/2012 11:20:01 AM MST

Ferguson

BOULDER -- A former Boulder County deputy wept as former co-workers cuffed him and led him out of the courtroom Tuesday morning after a Boulder District judge sentenced him to a short prison term and 20 years of intensively supervised sex offender probation on Internet child exploitation charges.

During the hearing, Rick Ferguson apologized to his former co-workers, family and community for his behavior, which included more than 900 sexually explicit online chats with people identified as girl as young as 11 years old. Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill said more than 200 of those chats were conducted on Boulder County Sheriff's Office computers while Ferguson was on duty. Mulvahill said a prison term was a necessary component to the sentence.

"If you give me the benefit of the doubt I can change," Ferguson told the judge as he wept through some of his comments to the court before Mulvahill's decision.

Mulvahill said he believed Ferguson was sincere and is making genuine effort in treatment.

"Do I think Mr. Ferguson can be safe in the community? I do. I think he can be safe in the community if he is appropriately structured and contained," Mulvahill said.

Ferguson pleaded guilty in August to felony sexual exploitation of a child, felony obscenity and official misconduct. Seven other charges were dismissed under the deal. Mulvahill sentenced Ferguson to 18 months in prison, with credit for 65 days served, and 20 years of intensively supervised sex offender probation, including a requirement that he have no contact with anyone younger than 18 until his treatment team determines that it is safe.

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Mulvahill said defense arguments that the charges against Ferguson were "a political decision to kick a cop while he is down" and that Ferguson has been punished more severely than others in his position because he was a police officer are unfounded.

"Law enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard," Mulvahill said, adding that the community must be able to trust law enforcement and that it was particularly aggravating for Ferguson's case that he conducted chats while working.

According to the sheriff's office, county information technology employees noticed unusual activity on the laptop in Ferguson's patrol car and uncovered the sexually explicit conversations. Further investigation revealed that the conversations were with people on the Internet who claimed to be young girls, according to reports. District attorney investigators and sheriff's investigators secured a search warrant for Ferguson's Lafayette home and seized his personal computers, which were also searched.

Mulvahill said that Ferguson's cooperation with investigators -- which included a confession -- his decision to seek treatment before conviction, progress he has made in treatment and his family's support were all mitigating circumstances. However, he said it was problematic that Ferguson had engaged in the behavior since the 1990s and did not seek help before he was caught.

Ferguson initially entered pleas of not guilty to the charges and was scheduled for a trial to begin Dec. 10. The plea spared him the trial and any lengthy prison time that could have come with multiple felony convictions.

Defense attorney Larry Mertes said Ferguson began struggling with a sexual addiction after he served as a detective on a case in the 1980s in which a murder victim had been dismembered and placed in a septic tank. Ferguson helped to retrieve the body parts, which he later learned belonged to a man who attended high school with him. Mertes said he suffered PTSD from the case and that therapy showed he treated the resulting numbness by seeking excitement in online sexual conquests.

Mertes said Ferguson decided to remain in the Broomfield County Jail for 65 days because he believed he needed to pay for his crimes and that he was "extremely proud" of Ferguson for working with investigations, accepting responsibility and seeking treatment.

Mulvahill said it was likely that Ferguson would spend "significantly less" time than 18 months in prison and that he must report immediately to probation upon his release.

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